Life is fragile

Without getting into a ton of details, our campus reeled last week over the loss of a beloved alumnus and employee. The death was an accident, and it has affected so many of us in a profound way. While I have seen other peers buried before last week, it has always been after an illness. While I was sad to see them go home, there was always that mingled relief they were no longer in pain, no longer suffering.

When I was woken shortly after midnight to the news J had fallen to his death while hunting, it was the last bit of news I expected to hear. In fact, after I realized it was not news that someone had been smoking pot in the residence hall as I expected, for the first thirty seconds or so, I thought it was a different J. While Jason and I were not close to him, it is impossible to be on a campus this size and have even a casual history of 8+ years without feeling some sort of camaraderie with a person.

J's very pregnant wife, V, and their children are in my thoughts and prayers several times a day. I drink my coffee and think of them. I stop at a red light and think of them. I see the decorative grasses that J helped to plant, the grass that he cut, and am dumbfounded at how fragile the string of life is.

It is heartwarming to see how many lives J touched. What a testimony it was to see over 500 people who came from all over the country to commemorate his life and worship God! I hope that J could see his funeral, and if he did, I imagine he was surprised at what an impact he had on so very many people during his life. While no one really believes his race was done, he certainly fought the good fight, leaves behind many good works, and is a true testimony what it means to be a Christian man, husband and father.